Washing machine



Mar. 3, 1925.

A. M. JENKINS WASHING MACHINE Filed May 25, 1923 //v VENTOI? an, Equal BY I To all whom it may concern.

Patented Mar. 3, 1925. i a 1 I UNITED STATES;

ARTHUR M. JENKINS, OF NORRISTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, i

WASHING Application filed. May 23,

Bev it known'that I, ARTHUR MJ JENKINS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Norristown, countyv of Montgomery, and State of Pennsylvania,have invented an Improvement in "Washing Machines, of which the following is va specification.

My invention has for its object an improved construction of washing machine in which the clothes are subjected to a recipro cation in the presence of the water and at the terminus of the movement in each direction, the clothes are given a rotary rubbing action but in opposite. directionsso that the. clothes are subjected to great agitation in the presence of the fluid and at the same. I

time are prevented from becoming tangled by reason of the fact that the mechanical rubbing operation is performed, first,in one direction, and then in the other, with the result that any-tendency to tangling under one rubbing action is counter-acted by the next succeeding rubbing action.

The result of the Washing operations by use of my improvements is that the clothes are treated to a positive rubbing action while contained in a continually rotating cage or compartment and without 3 any tendency to become entangled, and consequently athorough washing is possible-within a limited time and without'any severe or rought treatement of the fabric.

My inventlon comprlses. a rotary cylinder adapted to contain the clothes andhaving its ends formed with open mesh work for free circulation of the fluid'ina11.axial'di-. rection of the cylinder, and the said ends further provided on the inner surfaces with radial armsj constituting rubbing devices; the said cylinder rotating within a casing or compartment containing-the washingfluid and given in addition to a rotary; motion. a reciprocating motion in the directionof its axis, with the result that the rubbing action of the radial arms upon the clothes is alternately performed at the opposite inner ends of the cylinder. By this alternate action of the rubbing ends of the cylinder, the clothes are rubbed with a rotary action in one direction at'one moment, and then by the reciprocation of the cylinder, they are brought into contact with the other end thereof and given a rotary action in the opposite direction, sothat they are never balled up or tangled and consequently are subjected to a true washing operation without objec- MACHINE.

1923. Serial No. 640,840.

tionable wear upon the garments being treated.

My invention. also consists vof other features of construction which, together with those above enumerated, will be better understood by reference'to the drawings, in which Fig.1 is a-vertical section taken on line 11 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1. V

2 is a suitable casing or tank to contain the water to which the clothes are to be subjected and said casing may be supplied with suitable pipes for supplyingwater and for draining the same as is customary in washingmachines, though I have not deemed it necessary to illustrate these details. A cover 8 may be provided for the top of the casing, if so desired.

4 is a cylinder or drum for containing the clothes to be washed and said cylinder has its ends5 and 6 formed of open mesh construction which may be of heavy woven wire, as indicated in Fig. 2, or of any other suitable apertured structure, so that the water may freely pass through the ends of the cylinder.- The ends 5 and 6 of the cylinder may be reinforced by radial arms 7 arranged substantiallyas spokes and extending from the axis of the cylinder to the outer cylindricalbody or drum.- These radialarms 7 maybe ofconsiderable thickness, so as'to project within the space of the drum and act as rubbing elements in the treatment of the clothes. They may be securely attached to the perforated ends of the drum by means of bolts 8 which extend through said radial rubbing arms and through outer binding strips 9, positioned in alinement with the arms 7. Inthis manner, the perforated ends of the cylin'der are reinforced and the rubbing arms are more rigidly attached in position. 10 is asuitable door in the perimeter of the cylinder for providing access to the interior when introducing or removing the clothes. l

The cylinder 4 is suspended in a manner whereby it maybe rotated and at the same time reciprocated in an axial direction. At one end, the cylinder is provided with an axle stud 11 whichis journaled in a bearing 12, the latter being hinged at 13 to a link 14, l

is hinged at 19 to the bottom of a link 20, whose upper end is hinged at 21 to a hub held in a fixed position by a transverse bar 23 secured across the upper part of the cas ing. The tubular casting 16 is provided with a bevelled pinion 2st which meshes with a bevel gear 25 of large diameter, the same being secured to the transverse pin 19 which acts as a hinge between the parts 18 and 20 and a journal for the gear. This gear is also provided with spur teeth 26 with which a pinion 27 meshes, the said pinion being on the end of a shaft 21 which constitutes the hinge between the parts 20 and The shaft 21 is shown as provided with a crank 28, but it will be understood that instead of hand power, this shaft may be driven by an electric motor or other motive device in any suitable manner, such as is customary in washing machines.

In addition to the mechanism described, I provide further, a link 29 hinged at one end at 30 to the spur and bevel gear 25 and hav-' ing its other end hinged at 31- to the casing 2. As shown, the hinge 31 is in substantial alinement horizontally considered with the aXis of the drum 4.

It will now be understood that if the crank shaft 21 is rotated, the pinion 27 will cause the combined spur and bevel gear 25 to rotate. The rotation of said gear rotates the bevelled pinion 24 and with it, the hub casting 16 upon the journal 17. In this manner, the drum 4 is rotated and at the same time the rotation of the bevel gear 25 causes, through its link connection 29, a swinging motion of its journal 19 in an axial direction with the drum. swing about the shaft 21 and thereby permit the gear 25, together with the drum, to swing first in one direction and then in the other, said movements being determined by the position of the hinge point 30 between the gear 25 and the link When the drum is moved to the left. it assumes the dotted position r, and when it is moved 'to the right, it assumes the dotted position 4t from which it will be seen that the drum has an endwise reciprocation while at the same time it is being constantly rotatedj While I have shown the particular mechanism for rotating and reciprocating the drum which is illustrated in the drawing, I only illustrate said mechanism by way of example and not as a limitation to the motive power to be employed in giving the rotary and reciprocating motions to the drum, as various types of mechanism may be employed for this purpose without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In operation, the clothes are inserted into the interior of the drum through the door 10. Thewater in the casing 2 is preferably not higher'than the axis of the drum, and desirably as much less as will properly sub- The arm 20 will merge the clothes and at the same time provide a sufficient body of water to insure pro-per cleansing. During the rotation of the drum, there will be a natural tendency of the clothes to be rolled upon themselves in the presence of the Water, but at the same time the clothes floating in the water will have the opposite ends of the drum brought alternately into rubbing contact with said clothes. The inward projections or ribs 7 will strike the clothes and tend to rotate them, but the said ribs, at one end of the drum, will necessarily rotate the clothes in the opposite direction to the rotation imparted by the ribs atthe other end of the drum. These ribs coming into play alternately, according to the reciprocation of the cylinder, the action of the ribs, when brought in contact with the clothes, produces a beating and rubbing action thereon, but at no time does the operation tangle up the clothes so as to prevent directaction of the heaters or rubbers 7 upon the surface thereof.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable, and while I have in the present instance shown and described the preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be. understood that I do not restrict myself to the details, as the same aresusceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the'inventio'n;

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is 1. A cylinder for a washing machine havmg each of its ends consisting of woven wire of open mesh provided on the inner surfaces with radially and inwardly projecting ribs of wood to form rubbing devices during the washing of clothes contained withinthc cylinder, said ribs secured to the woven wire by bolts extending through the same and attached upon the outer side of the woven wire by means of radial reinforcing metallic strips.

2. In a washing machine, a-recept'aclet'o contain water, combined with a rotary cylinder having apertured' ends, su'spensiondevices for the cylinder comprising journal.

bearings in which the cylinder is journaled for rotation, links hinged to the receptacle and arranged within the same for supporting the journal bearings of the cylinder whereby it may have axial reciprocation simultaneously with its rotationg-and means for rotatingthe cylinder and causing it to be reciprocated while suspended by the links. 7

3. The invention according to claim 2, wherein further themeans for causing the cylinder to be rotated consistsof a beveled pinion secured to the end of the cylinder, a bevel gear meshing with the pinion and journaled in the lower end of one of said links, so as to move with it and the cylinder, and a driving shaft journaled axially with the upper hinged end of the said link and geared to the bevel gear whereby the latter may be at all times driven without interfering with the swinging of the hinged link.

4:. The invention according to claim 2,

wherein further, the means for causing the reciprocation of the cylinder consists of a link hinged at one end of the receptacle and at the other end to the bevel gear at a point eccentric from its axis.

In testimony of which invention, I hereunto set my hand.

- ARTHUR M. JENKINS. 

